Before moving to LA years ago, I had been to a number of small conventions, and had only met one actress at the time, Monica Rial. I had gotten two autographs from her, some interaction time, and was probably the highlight of my con experiences at that time. The best part was that autographs were free. Then, when I moved, the first con I went to was the start of Comikaze. There, I also got a few autographs from voice actors as well as comic book artists. Again, great time. The second year I went, however, there were a lot of people who were going that I really wanted to get autographs from. The thing was, they all charged money. Before then, I had thought that signing autographs were just free, plain and simple. I was disappointed and only got one autograph that day, simply because my sister paid for it for me. So now, as my first time to AX starts to loom, I can't help but have that bitter taste in my mouth about the whole autograph thing. Did I only have isolated incidents and the majority of cons have you charge for an autograph with someone you admire. I can understand the business side of it, and for people like Tara Strong or Stan Lee, I can see that they do charge, but I'm just against it. People already pay so much money to get into a con, spend money on merchandise for you to sign (or make something special that is homemade), and they charge for it. It kind of just says to me "hey, they did pay me to come here, but i'm only here so I can make a few quick bucks." For many, I know that's not the case, but it just leaves a bad impression on me. I sometimes wonder if it's the company that makes them charge instead of the actor? What do you guys think about it?
I actually worked at a stable that offered wagon rides. When they were used for public functions like festivals, they always charged a fifteen dollar fee per person to go on their ride despite the fact that the town is paying for them to be there. I realized this winter that it was illegal what they were doing and they were still doing it for some extra money despite the fact the most they can do is ask for tips. The reason why I'm bringing it up is because it does annoy me when people are being charged money for a service already paid for. Especially when it can get tremendously expensive and people who paid for comiccon and/or E3 and tons of other showcases out there to get in the first place and the companies pay for the stars to be there to sign autographs to get them attention it's not fair and kind of immoral for them to demand more money for an autograph. That's just my thoughts.
That's show business for you. I don't care for autographs or other memorabilia, but I believe that charging has to do more with supply and demand than anything else. If the autographs were free I believe it might detract from the other attractions, especially if they're really big stars. I think it's likely the amount they charge might be set by the event coordinators and not by the celebrities themselves. Yes, I think it's crude for them to charge for their autographs, but if they're paid subsidiaries to be at conventions, that instead I think might be a bigger insult. But I don't think you can expect someone to spend their time to make constant appearances and be purely driven by the devotion of their fans. Charging for non-event autographs might be a different story.
I actually believe it's how much an agent can haggle or how much a show wants to encourage bigger stars to appear and get a cut. VA's and their agents sometimes see it as a way to make money in cons they aren't paid much for, or as a high profile piece of showmanship, you know 'you have to pay to own a bit of me, I'm important enough for that'. Whilst cons see it as a way that if they establish a price for all the VA's in their con contracts, they can take a cut of the profits made. Really depends, so many possible reasons for it. Ultimately, I've never cared for autographs, seeing someone write their own name on a piece of paper to keep is akin to keeping a piece of their hair in my eyes. And in that same respect, a name, a written signature, is like a part of that person and I think legally speaking, part of their identity. Giving something away that personal to me is just mad. But money is money for some people, and if it's part of the game of 'showbiz' then that's what you gotta do.
I like autographs as it just feels personal but I prefer it when it's actually TO you. I also quite like just having photos with them and I'll keep that as memorabilia. I understand having to buy merchandise in order for them to sign (but even that I feel is a bit steep), I remember having to buy a £20 cook book and stand in line for 2 hours just to get Gordon Ramsey to sign it which I didn't mind at the time because I just wanted to meet him and it was a nice experience plus we got a cookbook but when you actually have to pay for just the signature then that feels a bit wrong. Of course, it may not be a way of just making more money it may actually be for something important that I don't realise in which case alright. If it's something like charity then that's fine and I think it's quite cool that they do things like that but apart from that I think they should be more considerate to the fans who already put in a lot of money to get their merchandise as well as going to events, their loyalty shouldn't be abused.
The last time I got an autograph was as a child at Disneyland. No extra money involved, just good feelings all around. Oh, and I can see how much fun my younger (and older) relatives have when I take them to see Mickey Mouse. No matter how I feel about autographs now, of course we can't help but feel that charging for autographs is a shady practice, no different than a salesman peddling his wares, despite the possible reasons for it. And it probably makes everyone (including the celebrities) feel bad. I just think that one thing to remember is that meeting someone is not a privilege; I'm not sure if it's okay for us to assume we have a right to their autograph because we paid for an admission ticket. When their appearance is used on promotional material, it's probably just for the chance to meet them; you cannot guarantee that everyone will be able to.
I don't care about someones signature. Id rather pay more money for five minutes of their time. That I can remember, whereas if the signature gets destroyed all I have is the memory of them signing a piece of paper.
